Comment: One-off events can’t guarantee retail success

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There’s no doubt that ‘feel good’ events, like the birth of the Royal Baby, can have a positive impact on the retail sector.

However, if Britain’s retailers are solely relying on one-off events like these to create long-lasting commercial success, then we all need to be a little bit concerned.

The truth is that successful retailers don’t wait for external forces to drive their businesses forward; they make their own luck by providing the right products at the right price along with superior service and flexible multichannel options that keep their customers coming back for more. With this approach, retailers will be much more able to smooth out the peaks and troughs that they will invariably face in this dynamic market.

Events that ignite the nation’s pride - whether it’s the arrival of the royal baby, the Olympics or the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee - will always bring an uptick in sales for certain retailers. However, one mustn’t forget that retail is a 365-day per year business. For every retailer that experiences a surge in sales as a result of a royal birth or Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, there will be another that is left with a warehouse full of stock that no one will want three months down the line.

That’s not to say that retailers shouldn’t use one-off opportunities like these to boost their sales in the short term.

The Center for Retail Research has claimed that the royal baby could boost retail sales by £243 million between 1 July and 31 August alone. However, beyond this period, the macroeconomic effects of the new heir to the throne are likely to pale into insignificance.

Of course, retailers will still need to plan ahead for the summer holidays and busiest trading periods, but even these events won’t be enough to deliver continued success if taken in isolation. Instead, businesses will need to make sure that they have all the fundamentals in place to achieve positive trading, day after day, week after week, throughout the entire year and beyond.

For all these reasons, when we look back at events like the arrival of the royal baby, we’re likely to find that they provided more of a PR opportunity than a bona fide sales opportunity, especially when viewed over the long term.

That’s why retailers should never entrust their success to events that they can’t control. Instead, they should focus on the retail basics in order to encourage a sense of customer loyalty and engagement that lasts for years, rather than days.